Telepresence Robots Expand Post-Surgical Care Into The Home

Posted by KBZ Blogging Team

Medical telepresence continues to change how patients access health care across the United States. One of the more cutting edge developments in medical video communications has to do with post-operative care. Specifically, Children’s Hospital Boston is now sending telepresence robots home with patients in order to provide follow-up treatment after serious surgical procedures.

The robots, manufactured by a company called Vgo Communications, are designed to provide a direct link between practitioners at Children’s Hospital Boston and recuperating patients – one that eliminates the need for regular return visits to the facility.

As the video above reveals, the robots feature a five-inch telepresence display where a ‘face’ would normally be found, and this interface works in combination with a high definition camera, microphone, and speaker system in order to help doctors and nurses keep in touch with patients at home. This includes not just direct conversations in order to report on recovery, symptoms, and pain, but also the ability to provide high resolution images of surgical wounds in order to track healing and spot any potential problems as early as possible. The robot is not an autonomous device, but one which is remotely controlled by hospital or clinic staff over the same cellular connection that it uses for communications purposes.

One the most appealing aspects of telepresence robots in a medical setting is the reduced costs associated with the technology. The four-and-a-half foot wheeled robots are priced at roughly $6,000 each, but the savings associated with avoiding hospital visits are a boon to insurance companies and patients. They also reduce the strain on healthcare infrastructure by keeping patients outside of a facility unless absolutely necessary, without sacrificing quality of care. In addition, the recovery of each person monitored by the robots is uninterrupted by the need for regular travel.

Currently the Vgo telepresence robot is still in the pilot stages of deployment, with five of the units being cycled through eight patients so far. An expansion of the test run to five times as many patients is in the cards, and the long term plan is to equip the telepresence devices with the ability to perform a wider range of in-home care tasks. This will provide remote doctors with a more complete picture of patient health. Eventually, the robots could be used to collect blood and urine tests as well as take blood pressure and pulse rates, with that information then sent back to the primary care provider.

Post-operative care is merely one of the potential applications of telepresence robots currently being explored. The ability to connect over a cellular link instead of a broadband internet connection allows these mobile telepresence devices to be used in areas where wi-fi coverage is unreliable, giving them an appreciable amount of mobility. Additional uses for telepresence robots which are currently under consideration include in-home care for the elderly and providing a classroom presence for students who are too ill to attend a traditional school.

Benjamin Hunting
KBZ Communications Blogging Team